1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle seating assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to vehicle seating assembly that includes a seatbelt buckle assembly that moves with a seat bottom of the seat assembly, but is not directly attached to the seat bottom.
2. Background Information
Seatbelt assemblies have been required in vehicles for many years. Seatbelt assemblies typically include an elongated seatbelt, a tongue member and a seatbelt buckle. The seatbelt is typically attached at one end to a structural member within the vehicle adjacent to the vehicle seat. A second end of the seatbelt is typically attached to a spring located reel that releasably retains the seatbelt, locking the seatbelt against movement when the vehicle is in motion. The tongue member is typically moveably disposed on the seatbelt. The seatbelt buckle typically includes a latching mechanism that releasably engages the tongue member such that the tongue member fixes the seatbelt to the seatbelt buckle. Typically seatbelt buckle is securely coupled to a passenger compartment floor adjacent to a seat assembly. However, when the seat assembly is movable and the belt buckle remains fixed to the floor, the seatbelt buckle may not be conveniently located for attachment to the seatbelt.